Friday, December 21, 2012

Many Americans participated in the National Moment of Silence yesterday for the victims who were massacred in Newtown, CT one week ago. Many websites also "went dark" at 9:30am ET. But the websites of Barack Obama -- "the president who cares" -- were raking in blood money. In an email that was sent out to supporters on the tragedy, Obama used the twenty dead children as an opportunity to add two donation links -- both for HIS campaign. No "teddy bear" or "comfort dog" links that would have been more appropriate. Just "click-on-this" links for him. And that is more than disturbing.

Paul Bedard reports: "They won the campaign handily and even had $14.2 million to spare, but the Obama-Biden campaign is still raising money, this time off the president's comments about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Connecticut. In email from chief campaign advisor David Axelrod that urges supporters to watch President Obama's moving address to the community of Newtown, Conn., there are two links that open a page with a video player featuring the president's speech and two donate buttons asking for $15-$1,000 for his campaign."

Then again, it's not the first time that Obama has exploited tragedy. In fact, he's proven himself to be an expert at "never letting a crisis go to waste." And he has access to the Bill Clinton playbook.

Friday, December 7, 2012

I had already made up my mind upon reading Jason Whitlock's take on the murder-suicide committed by Jovan Belcher before hearing Bob Costas reference the article in his anti-gun rant in the middle of a football game Sunday night on national TV -- that "handguns do not enhance our safety, they exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it."

My first reaction was "Huh? What? Here? Now? Oh yeah, it's NBC." And I turned the channel. I had tuned in to catch the score, not hear from some hypocrite who travels with an armed entourage protecting him. And I found the way Costas came across, stating that drivel so matter-of-factly as if it were gospel, particularly galling. What a fool. It reminded me of his Jerry Sandusky interview debacle on NBC and how that played out -- very disturbing.

It also told me how weak in the mind both Costas and Whitlock are to actually believe that tripe -- to openly admit they cannot even trust themselves to control their will, act with discipline, nor show reason when baited or tempted. It's a good thing that they themselves are not armed. It reminds me of that sign (see below) by the anti-Obama gun store Southwest Shooting Authority that states Obama voters are "not welcome" there because they're "not responsible enough to own a firearm." Both Costas and Whitlock certainly fall into that category.

But in the Culture War, Bob Costas achieved his objective -- he got to spout off to a national TV audience -- no matter how many times he has since pretended to walk back what he said. Don't believe him. And don't expect him to use that very same NBC platform again -- Sunday night in the middle of a football game -- and offer up a sincere retraction because we all know that'll never happen.

Grover Norquist (at the video’s 10:38 mark): “We are about to have a Tea Party second wave that’s going to dwarf the first wave and that is because while ‘spend too much’ brought the Tea Party into existence, we’re about to walk into ‘spend too much, regulate too much, and tax too much,’ all together. It’s going to be a perfect storm of annoying government behavior, which is devastating to the economy, and I think the small business community which is going to be particularly hit by Obama’s tax increases are going to lead the fight bigger, stronger, tougher than the last Tea Party, and this is where Obama is making a big mistake -- he doesn’t understand who he’s threatening, who he’s irritating, and how this is going to turn out. So I think we’re going to see a real snap back against this administration’s excesses just like the last time.”

Professor William A. Jacobson writes: “Grover Norquist is predicting a second, even larger Tea Party wave... I think he’s right. I hope that Legal Insurrection and College Insurrection will be at the forefront of that wave.” Continue reading...